Left data, right data?

For most of the 20th century, a family could live well on one salary.
Now even two salaries are not enough to survive on and as a result, a much higher proportion of people are in debt. The average work hours (plus commute hours) keep increasing as well.

Having electronic gadgets, which are much cheaper today, is not an advantage but more often a demand of the work-place or study-place without which one can no longer gain employment. These artificially seem to lower the CPI, thus the rate of inflation, while food prices keep doubling and tripling, forcing more people to compromise their diet and eat junk. And when we buy household goods and cars, they only last half as long, at best.

If this is not poverty, then what is?

Well said Yuyutsu!
Rhrosty

This is one claim I just can't take seriously Yuyutsu.

In my experience it is cheaper to but reasonable quality fresh food, & prepare it at home, than but fast food.

That should have been buy of course.

As for food getting dearer, that is a bit doubtful too.

A dairy milking 70 cows used to be able to support 3 families. Now one milking 140 cows giving 3 times the milk can't support 2 families. This applies to most primary production.

The price for most things at the farm gate is little increased in over 25 years. The problem is what people, even those who live on handouts, expect.

How you can say people with TVs, CD players, mobile phones, cars & washing machines are living in poverty is a mystery to me.

They are living monetarily richer lives than my parents could ever manage. They may not be that well off compared to what 2 public servants or a couple of plumbers might be, but they are perhaps too comfortable for the good of the country.

Time for a more realistic definition of poverty me thinks.

Hasbeen,

"This is one claim I just can't take seriously Yuyutsu.

In my experience it is cheaper to but reasonable quality fresh food, & prepare it at home, than but fast food."

Why can't you take it seriously?

According to the account you gave in this thread that you started, you are mortally frustrated because cooking times and temperatures for various fast food offerings don't correlate.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=6612